Q&A: Boone native Katy Johnson on her hometown, her career and trashy TV

Thursday

Oct 18, 2012 at 8:35 AMOct 18, 2012 at 8:39 AM

Boone native Katy Johnson is one of the leading ladies on a new show on the TV Guide Network.

Boone native Katy Johnson is one of the leading ladies on a new show on the TV Guide Network.

Johnson says the show, “The Shores,” is an unscripted drama, which is not to be confused with a reality show. Before her recent show, you might have caught a glimpse of her on “CSI: NY,” “Monk,” “ABDC” or a Britney Spears music video. She has also starred in a handful of indie flicks.

What are some highlights of work that you’ve done prior to “The Shores?”

I started modeling in college, I was in LA a lot and signed with an agency there. I shot the cover of Maxim Czech Republic and Max Mexico and was getting lots of print work, so I decided to put my studies on hold at DMACC and move out to LA to try and be a model.

I never moved to LA to be an actress. My agent asked me if I wanted to be an extra in “Transformers 2,” and I agreed. I was terrified of Michael Bay, the director, seeing him screaming at everyone on set. Most of my scenes were edited out, but I had one featured part in the dorms with Shia LaBeouf. I did a few featured extra roles on “CSI: NY,” “CSI Miami,” “Monk” and “Greek.” I used to do audience work for “America’s Best Dance Crew,” and I was also Britney Spears’ photo double in the “Womanizer” music video.

I had a few co-starring roles in a few indie films such as the horror movie “2001 Maniacs Field of Screams,” “Black Limousine,” starring David Arquette, and the vampire flick “Nightfight.”

How did your growing up in Boone shape you as a person?

I was always adventurous. Boone wasn’t a town with much going on, so I created my own fun. I had club houses and parties for every holiday. I played softball and rode my bike all over town. I just dreamed of what my life would eventually be like. My family wasn’t lucky enough to travel much, so my dream was to see the world, move away and make the best of myself. There were times where I really thought I’d never get a chance to see the ocean or go to New York City. I was confused on what I wanted to do when I got older, but it all worked out. It’s nice to look back at my dreams and how big they seemed and now I’ve followed them and seen and done more than a lot of people do in their life times.

What is” The Shores?”

“The Shores” is an “unscripted drama,” not a reality show. We try to stay away from the term “reality” as then it separates us from shows that are shot documentary-style “Jersey Shore” and “Real World.” “The Shores” is about four American girls who move to Cape Town, South Africa to work for a billionaire’s events company. We do parties and charity events. We help the MyLife charity, which specializes in getting poor children off the streets and giving them the materials and skills to go and live in the world.

There is the work side of the show, but then there is the struggle with friendships, relationships and control. As you watch the show you will see relationships falls apart, friendships made and destroyed and real struggles that people endure everyday.

How is “The Shores” different from other programs is would be compared to — “Jersey Shore,” “Real World,” “Real Housewives,” “Keep Up with the Kardashians?”

It isn’t constantly filmed 24/7. We had shoot days and call times, the scenes were always set up, properly lit and we were mic’d and briefed about each scene. We would get call sheets every night and for example it would say 9 a.m. Katy and Kathy shoot at Cafe Caprice. That’s why we steer from reality because although there was never a script there are story lines pushed to make good TV. We had real issues sometimes off camera so we would have to re-act them on camera the next day so the viewers would know what was going on or why “so-and-so” were in a fight — it’s the same with “Housewives” and “Kardashians” because things are always a little manipulated and story lines sometimes pushed or slightly created.

Another thing is our show doesn’t show us doing sleezy things or getting intoxicated and making out. We have a very PG show which can maybe bore some people but we wanted to keep it as classy as possible as we do have parents who we’d want to be proud not ashamed like certain other shows.

For everyone who loves those reality shows, it seems there are two people who despise them. What do you believe is the cultural significance of these shows?

I don’t blame some people for not liking reality. I never used to really like reality, yet when I would find myself watching it I couldn’t stop. I obviously don’t think it’s educational, but sadly today we live in a society where people wanna know what everyone else is doing in their lives. That’s why Facebook and Twitter are so popular. People love watching other people’s life; they love drama and watching people face struggles. As bad as it is, that’s society. “Jersey Shore” is such crap TV, but people watch it because it’s shocking.

Do you enjoy those types of programs? What TV do you watch?

I currently live in France and have an English cable box so I don’t get much American TV. I rarely watch TV. If I do it’s Sky News or documentaries. I don’t follow any sitcoms at all however, when I lived in America I watched pure crap. I was addicted to the VH1 dating shows. This is even embarressing to admit but I loved shows like “Rock of Love,” “Flavor of Love” and “I Love New York.” It was just pure entertainment for me. I also used to watch “The Hills” and that’s very similar to our show. (It has the same director so if you are a fan of “The Hills” watch our show.)

‘The Shores’

When: 8 p.m. Sundays

Channel: TV Guide Network

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